The price of freedom
by CollectorGeneral
Summary: In a galaxy where humanity is under the uncompromising rule of the rigidly militaristic and unforgiving totalitarian "free-state", the efforts of one may very easily become almost the same as those of none. AU/re-imagining of ME1/Rated T, possibly M in the future (also my first fanfic).
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: I will be using several titles and ranks in dutch over the course of this fanfic so don't be alarmed at things like "vlucht luitenant" or "doktor", they are not typos. This is also my first fanfic, as stated in the summary, so reviews would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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It was high noon in deep space as an ominous frigate-class spaceship adorned with a neat pattern of orange lines, approached one of the numerous mass relays that could be found in the galaxy. As it neared the ancient construct, the telltale signs of a jump were becoming more and more evident as both the relay and the vessel became enveloped in blue lightning cracking along the surface of the ship, partially overtaking its silhouette. This visual spectacle persisted for a few moments before, having aligned its direction with that of the relay, the vessel lit up brightly and was sent at a blinding speed towards its desired destination far away from the area from whence it departed.

_*An hour later, on board the OVSV (Oranje-Vrijstat stealth vehicle) Pretoria*_

The crew was looking lively and salutes were being thrown his way rather liberally as kapitein-luitenant Shepard made his way up the stairs of the _Pretoria_, entering the CIC and pacing down the deck past the imposing galaxy map monitor whilst inspecting everyone and everything in his path.

The kapitein-luitenant had a reputation for being both ruthless and infinitely insistent, qualities well known by those who had served under his command before, so the numerous workers on the warship did the best they could to appear as attentive and diligent as human beings could possibly be. However, in the eyes of the kapitein-luitenant there was always some meaningless fault to grasp and use as a lightning rod to justify an entire litany of spiteful accusations coupled with a healthy dose of what the kapitein-luitenant referred to as 'correction', known better to those outside the ship as old fashioned flogging. Shepard, albeit he was never called such for doing so was grounds for an immediate angered reprisal, always carried around a silver-coloured whip adorned with steel barbs. This instrument of punishment, like many other things, did not fit in well with the orange tone of his free-state officers uniform but no one had the right, in theory or practice, to point this detail out for it was just another note in the long list of things the man had practically criminalized for his subordinates.

Just when it seemed that his trek to the helm of the vessel had gone smoothly, one of the many marines cluttering up the deck (the _Pretoria _was far overstaffed due to the state military doctrine that wholeheartedly endorsed an en masse interpretation of any tactic known to man) ended up accidentally bumping into the malevolent kapitein-luitenant. Struggling against their inquisitive nature to peek over and see how the ordeal will play out, the rest of the crew remained seated and occupied with their tasks for fear of being included into the list of people the officer was going to take his anger out on.

As could be expected from the kapitein-luitenant, the offender ended up on the floor in an alarmingly small amount of time, writhing up and down howling in an ungodly manner that made the others cringe as Shepard kept swinging the merciless flexible truncheon into the air before bringing it down on the agonized trooper in question, inflicting not only severe pain but also the unbearable knowledge that this man who had crossed his path (quite literally in his case), would never again be treated as an equal or even a dignified human being.

In the highly militant free-state there was an universally understood unspoken law according to which any who disrespected their superiors, be they officers or members of a higher social status, were to be harshly demeaned for their alleged misconduct and possibly even cast down into the lowest possible tier of the utterly stratified free-state society, namely the 'subhuman' class (colloquially known as slaves).

Shepard had had his fill of 'stress management' after some time and so, leaving the broken marine to wallow in self-pity on the floor of the CIC, trod over to the helmsman's cockpit.

Vrijstaat vlucht luitenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau had just exited FTL speeds and was currently piloting the _pretoria_ towards the human colony of Bloemfontein prime (named after the legendary capital of the free-state). Due to his self-induced diversion on the way to the cockpit, kapitein-luitenant Shepard had missed the turian spectre Nhilus, who was on the _pretoria _for reasons yet undisclosed by kapitein Anderson, a man whom Shepard rarely understood at times, but had to follow faithfully regardless of his views, for disobeying the chain of command in the free-state was the worst possible offense (behind treason) that one could perpetrate against their society. Approaching the vlucht luitenant sitting next to his co-pilot luitenant Kaidan Alenko, Shepard cleared his throat and took an official looking stance as he maintained direct supervision over the two men, vary for any signs of either idleness or treason. He had little interest in which one took priority for it was his job to be on the lookout for both.

The vlucht luitenant muttered to his fellow pilot "I hate that guy." and Alenko responded with an inquiry "Nhilus gave you the closest thing to a compliment, so you hate him?". Moreau immediately stated "You keep in mind to cool down your guns on the way out of an engagement? That's great. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible! Besides, turians are trouble, especially turian spectres. I can't stand him being on board. Call me prejudiced." Alenko followed "You're prejudiced. Bloemfontein specifically requested council approval for this mission so they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on our progress.". Joker shrugged "Well that's what they told us anyhow, only an idiot would believe that the capital's trying to c-" but was interrupted by the hovering kapitein-luitenant who snarled in between their conversation "Enough! The next person to question Bloemfontein's orders will be dishonourably discharged and shot!". "Out of the main gun probably" luitenant Alenko mumbled to himself but, to his misfortune, not quietly enough. The vicious kapitein-luitenant took a step closer, leaned down and smacked Kaidan on the head "Did I hear something from you, luitenant Alenko...?". The current co-pilot frowned for a brief moment, quickly saying after "No, kapitein-luitenant sir. Sorry, sir.". Alenko knew that arguing with Shepard was a potentially lethal fool's errand and he had no interest in dying over a lighthearted quirp, so once more the man simply had to swallow his pride and offer an apology in hope that he may one day be free of the intolerable kapitein-luitenant he and countless others suffered under on a daily basis.

An uncomfortable silence drowned out the cockpit of the _Pretoria _after Shepard had halted the ruminative pilot's line of thought. The kapitein-luitenant was about to turn around and pace off before the agitated tone of kapitein Anderson emanated from Moreau's intercom, "Vlucht luitenant, status report!". The pilot responded without delay "The mass relay was cleared two minutes ago, kapitein. Experimental systems engaged, armaments primed. No contacts."."Well done. Establish communications and send the initial reports back to Bloemfontein. I want high command updated before we reach the colony." V.L. Moreau memorized his orders in a moment. "Understood kapitein. B- do we have any further orders at this time?" the pilot did not dare joke about the spectre's presence on the warship, not with Shepard staring at him the whole time. "Notify the kapitein-luitenant that he needs to be present in the communications room at once." Joker closed the channel "Well kapitein-luitenant, you heard him sir.". Shepard glared at the back of Moreau's head and insinuated in his usual manner "Absolutely terrific work, vlucht luitenant**,** carry on with insubordination like that and you'll be replaced before we get to the colony." turning to the CIC and stepping down the hallway afterward, not sticking around in order to hear the inevitable groveling of either Alenko or the pilot himself.

Shepard had more important matters to attend to and he kept this in mind as he passed the crowd in the command information center, peering to the side for a brief moment as he trod past the only marine in the entire ship who had any experience with their impending locale at all, the young, impressionable and very eager korporaal Jenkins. The korporaal was busy bragging about some fictional exploit or other to the ship's sole medical officer, dokter Chakwas, who wasn't too convinced of the authenticity of Jenkins' tales. The good dokter caught glimpse of Shepard and tried to have a word or two with the dogged kapitein-luitenant but he had no time for any distractions at the moment and simply marched by, entering the comm room shortly thereafter.

The atmosphere seemed stifling and it felt like the blasted pilot had disabled the inertia dampeners all of a sudden as Shepard set his hateful eyes on the smug-looking turian spectre. He had no idea why the capital had made it adamant that this alien accompany them on their mission, even more so on their most advanced technological achievement and the first stealth-capable warship in the entire free-state navy. Ignorance had a detrimental effect on the nerves of the edgy kapitein-luitenant stepping down the short entryway and making his way to the currently disabled communicators, glaring at the foreign agent with piercing eyes that would've made any free-state grunt suffer cardiac arrest on the spot. Nhilus was apparently amused by the kapitein-luitenant's irrational fears and suspicions, his mandibles remained calmly still as he spoke "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk." but Shepard did not take this improper rank (to him anyway) lightly and spat out in an instant "Listen to me turian filth and listen good. I did not approve of your presence here on this vessel before and I still don't now. The only reason I tolerate you is because of the kapitein's very explicit orders and if it weren't for them then you would have been nothing more than a mixture of space dust and v-". In an ironic turn of events, Shepard ended up being interrupted in a very familiar way by kapitein Anderson who had just entered the room and was heading towards the belligerent man at a rapid pace "Kapiten-luitenant, what the hell are you doing?! Are you threatening Nhilus with that drivel you've been spouting next to the bloody intercom here? That's been activated I might add!". Shepard realized at that exact moment just what Nhilus had pulled him into, the crafty alien had enabled the transmission device before the angered kapitein-luitenant had even got to the door, letting his frustrated rhetoric be broadcast all over the _Pretoria_ for any on board to hear. Anderson merely shook his head with a thoroughly disapproving expression and gestured to the intercom, letting Shepard switch the thing off before continuing with anything.

The briefing had been an interesting experience for the kapitein-luitenant. First of all, kapitein Anderson let him know that he will be dismissed from active service and sent back to Earth itself for extended psychiatric care, not really a grand surprise. With his record of anti-alien outbursts, general ill demeanor and excessive violence it was bound to happen sooner or later, as much as high command appreciated patriotic soldiers, Shepard had quite simply gone from bad to worse ever since he signed on with the navy of the free-state. He smashed his gloved fist against the closest wall he could find, scaring nearly a dozen passers-by as he did so, the rest was not all sunshine and bunnies either.

Following his privately announced involuntary suspension, the meeting ended up taking a turn for the worse as all contact with the colony was lost after a foreboding transmission came through, screaming bloody murder accompanied by a cacophony of gunfire and the sound of some poor soul being painfully perforated. The kapitein wasted no time in ordering ship-wide mobilization on the spot and sent Shepard down the armory in the cargo bay to suit up. For his previous outburst against Nhilus, the luitenant-kapitein was denied his usual contingent of twenty or so troops and had to make due with just luitenant Alenko and little Jenkins, a seriously hampering set of circumstances for him.

The sixty marines who made up the core of the _Pretoria_'s ground forces were all prepared and had dust off their semi-automatic rifles resembling the obsolete berdan single-shot rifles of ages past, though their insides were surprisingly quite modern, if not robust. Shepard finally made it down to the cargo bay in which the armory was also located, retrieved his armor, had a change of attire in few minute's time and equipped any remaining bits and pieces of his combat set. Shepard grasped his prized Hoffman carbine (which was actually a bluntly reverse engineered design copied from that of the age-old M7 avenger) and gave a faint smile as a flicker of light gleamed into his eyes from the polished surface of the weapon. One of the few things that actually brought joy to the harsh kapitein-luitenant was the knowledge that he can spend some part of his day making the galaxy a better place for the free-state by taking care of its detractors and opponents, one at a time. Of course his joy was demolished like a house of cards the moment he realized that poor Jenkins and Alenko were right next to him by that time, both eyeing their kapitein-luitenant and waiting for orders like frightened little children. That's the way it seemed to Shepard in any case for he already saw the herd of troops sprint off the ramp and to their common goal, the retrieval of this so-called 'derelict artifact' that was vaguely mentioned during the briefing beforehand, uttering a single syllable about it to the men was of course out of the question, they went in to do whatever their superiors wanted them to do and they did so with pride and vigor. That was the way things worked in the armed forces of the free-state and Shepard would have it no other way with his pair of companions . The ship took off again, flying away from the first drop zone. The kapitein-luitenant's earpiece came to life as Anderson relayed his orders "Shepard" the man cringed at this informal tone ,but he knew it was justified and unavoidable after what had transpired earlier today. "Take Alenko and Jenkins and prepare for imminent deployment. We'll drop you off at a separate landing zone. You will be in charge of getting that artifact secured kapitein-luitenenant.". Shepard raised an eyebrow at this odd development "Don't look so surprised, you may be a stubborn bastard but you're a competent one and I can't trust the rank and file to give this matter the delicate touch it needs. The LZ is coming up any moment now so be ready, Anderson out.".

This was all Shepard needed to stretch his arms for a moment and prepare himself for his cue to disembark which should be arriving any moment now. Luitenant Alenko and korporaal Jenkins were also primed to jump at his whim, holding their standard-issue firearms steady and their mouths shut..

Shepard welcomed the relative silence of the emptied cargo bay in those final moments before a ground mission, his men were quiet as was expected and nothing had gone wrong with the preparations, always a good sign. This entire assignment had felt off to the kapitein-luitenant ever since the conclusion of the briefing and it was making him anxious, he detested this state of restlessness. Alas, Shepard had no time to continue ruminating on the matter as the ramp leading down out of the cargo bay descended once more and gave way for the three to run out and raise their armaments.

Hearing the engines of the _Pretoria_ become more faint with each passing moment, Shepard took a second to scan his surroundings. "Landing zone secure, kapitein-luitenant!" Kaidan noted, Shepard nodded to this and pointed out "Acknowledged. Korporaal, luitenant, on me. We're moving out." the duo responded affirmatively.

For better or worse they were in the thick of it now and the only way out was the one straight through, so the three men marched on towards their goal, the derelict artifact. They had a job to do and they were here to do it, letting nothing stand in the way between them and total victory.

Little did they know however just how perilous this road was going to be on that day.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I appreciate all the views so far people, any feedback would be welcome.

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Bloemfontein prime was an eerie place, to put it mildly. The stench of 'smoke and death', as luitenant Alenko put it, could be felt everywhere. The three men stopped for a moment to look out into the distance, the sight before them left little room for interpretation. The colony of Bloemfontein prime, the pride and joy of the interstellar expansion program of the free-state, had been utterly ransacked on a planetary scale.

Kapitein-luitenant Shepard made fists with his hands and glared at the desecrated countryside. He felt that ever-familiar sense of hatred flare up again, a point of interest for him though was the reservation he experienced at the same time. There was something rotten in his head, he was sure of it. Soldiers, especially officers of the free-state, were not supposed to have doubts or start second guessing their instincts. If free-state property had been attacked then their sworn task was to locate and annihilate, not stand around drooling like simpletons contemplating the meaning of the provocation.

The seemingly cold and calculating kapitein-luitenant made a mental note to deal with this issue later and ordered Alenko and Jenkins to follow him. They were still on a colonized planet under siege by forces unknown and time was of the essence so they continued on, pacing forward through the clearing.

Shepard was glad for the fact that Bloemfontein prime itself was a very habitable planet in its features, there was no hostile flora or fauna, no aggressive indigenous species and above all, few natural environmental hazards. These factors made for an excellent battleground, in theory. Unfortunately for Shepard though, like all worlds claimed by the free-state, Bloemfontein prime suffered from a terrifying lack of proper infrastructure, planning and quality materials, but what it did have however, was the iconic issue of settlement overpopulation (due to the clustered nature of free-state colonies).

The three humans had been lucky enough not to encounter any resistance from whatever enemy was plaguing the ailing colony (aside from Alenko's jumpy reaction to a dirt-ridden local that ended with one case of unnecessary use of lethal force that won't be in the after-action report) but still, Shepard could not shake his disturbed premonition, something was off with this mission and he could feel it.

The kapitein-luitenant soon made first contact with what immediately thereafter became the source not only incoming fire but also nerve-racking thoughts. Approximately five or so meters away from the group of men, stood three colonists whom the squad recognized almost momentarily thanks to their noticeable beige outfits adorned with a pattern of orange lines. Jenkins decided to call out to them, hoping to inquire about their status and this location, against the quiet warning of his officer.

And then, in the blink of an eye, it all began.

The young korporaal was sent flying backwards by a pair of synthetic drones that had burst from the ground like rockets, opening fire on the unsuspecting man and breaking past his shields along with his meager armor in an instant. Before Shepard had even managed to give the order to take cover, Jenkins' hole-ridden corpse hit the ground and nearly broke apart from the immense volume of fire the flying machines were throwing his way.

Shepard and Alenko both charged to the nearest boulders they could find, that were big enough to be used as cover, and returned fire. The luitenant's semi-automatic rifle worked wonders on the duo of belligerent fliers as he let loose a steady volley of shots in their direction, destroying the first one with a few blasts and the second with some more. Shepard did not join in on Alenko's barrage and remained in cover behind his own rock, peering out and waiting for the luitenant to mop the two up.

Once the drones had been defeated, Shepard noticed something that had most certainly not been part of the equation. The colonists had been standing there a few meters from them the entire time. Their forms were hunched and tense, three pairs of frantic orbs could be seen glaring at the kapitein luitenant and his companion, along with everything else around them. Shepard could not quite put their calmness and the recent firefight together, he squinted his eyes and then quickly took a step back, facial features frozen in actual fear and hands gripping his carbine with all the force he could muster. Alenko realized a moment later what had caused his reputably fearless leader to cringe like that as the colonists began to rapidly trod towards them. Their gait was a rigid one, more akin to robots or the undead so popular in the entertainment of certain sections of free-state society. What alarmed the luitenant the most, however, was not that they were being approached by these odd people but the fact that the colonists were utterly disfigured and mutilated, yet still operational. The revolting features of the shambling people were further enhanced by an unknown organic-looking growth that had a red hue about it. These tumors were present in varying locations on their bodies, all replacing either partially or completely some part of their figures.

Whatever the reasons for the actions of the colonists, Shepard and Alenko were thoroughly mortified by their outward appearance and walk, what followed was a hail of fire from Shepard's Hoffman carbine. The abnormal encroaching colonists stood no chance against the substantial rate of fire the weapon possessed, bringing them down in a few seconds. Alenko's gag reflex kicked in and he nearly spilled the contents of his stomach at the sight of the hole-ridden colonists, for the poor souls started falling apart in a manner comparable to wet tissue paper when they tumbled over on the earth beneath their feet.

This was a gruesome sight and Shepard could only bitterly thank his experience from the disastrous Torfan operation a few months back, Alenko hadn't seen this level of horror on the battlefield before and this detail was severely affecting him now. The kapitein-luitenant headed over to the almost-forgotten cadaver of the late korporaal Jenkins. Alenko looked down in tribulation and nodded "They blew right through his shields, the poor guy never stood a chance." Shepard could only tiredly agree "I told him not to give away our position, damn it. We can't afford to waste anymore time here, lets get moving." Alenko gave a gesture of acknowledgment and the duo went on, en route to their persisting ultimate goal, the dig site.

_*Meanwhile, on board the OVSV Pretoria*_

The CIC was bustling with activity as mission updates kept coming in droves, the outlook in general was quite bleak. Kapitein Anderson stood on the platform overlooking the galaxy map, reading one of the latest field reports. He was becoming concerned , vivid descriptions of so-called 'mutant colonists' and 'abominations' were more and more persistent. Paragraph after paragraph contained nothing but frightful musings on this new threat and accounts of direct contact, blurry as they were, sent shivers down the spine of even him, the exemplary kapitein of the _Pretoria_.

It was not an easy job, being stuck on the lowest ladder of the operational command of the free-state's navy, Anderson had to make his own report to luitenant admiraal Hackett himself in a few hours and rumors were abound that he was due for a promotion to the high rank of admiraal by the ruling party itself back in the capital. A mediocre or outright terrible result here and now would, in all likelihood, wipe out even the slimmest hope of this proposition coming to pass and so, Anderson was not looking forward to delivering bad news, lest the luitenant admiraal find some reason to reprimand him.

The stuffed deck was horrid to tolerate by that point and so, Anderson decided to make his way downstairs, he could actually hear himself think in his cabin at least.

The third deck of the _Pretoria_ had a surprising calm and tranquil atmosphere, probably because most of the personnel were up in the CIC. The kapitein wearily trod over to his cabin, entered and sat down sighing behind his desk. This ordeal had the potential to turn into the single worst assignment he had yet seen throughout his career. This prospect was the worst case scenario but also the one with the greatest probability of happening.

Anderson was about to reach for a bottle of cheap, factory mass-produced beer, but remembered that he'd lost it to one of the many crewmen on the ship, in a poor card game no less. He had to face the facts here, he was losing men fast, he had to contend with an unknown new enemy, the promotion of an admiraal depended on his account and above all, he was going to lose Shepard from his command after this. Despite agreeing with the decision to make the kapitein-luteinant undergo forced 'rehabilitation', he still felt resentful at the idea. Shepard was a social wreck and one of the harshest officers in the entire vast free-state navy but also an extremely determined and durable fighter. What he lacked in grace and finesse, he made up for with sheer willpower and perseverance (along with excessive firepower on occasion).

After groveling to himself for some time about the very real hopelessness of the situation at hand, Anderson got up from his desk and paced back to the second deck, someone had to keep an eye on the operation after all and he happened to be the only kapitein on the ship.

_*Around the same time on Bloemfontein prime, a couple dozen meters from the dig site *_

Kapitein luitenant Shepard and luitenant Alenko were cautiously approaching a narrow pass, the final hurdle before reaching the dig site just beyond that point. "Take up position next to the boulder on my right, I'll scout ahead." Shepard told Alenko, earlier on they had been ambushed by more of the aerial drones whilst passing through a sparse forest and the kapitein luitenant had no intention of being caught unprepared like that again. Carelessness had already cost them alone a man, he did not even want to think what the other six combat groups had suffered by now.

Shepard was holding his Hoffman carbine steady and walking slowly over to their objective site, he was about halfway there before shots rang out once again. Shepard hit the deck and tensed up. He hadn't the faintest clue if the enemy this time around was another band of drones or more of the horrifying colonists they'd tackled before, he was in no shape to handle either, given the non-existent cover he had to contend with in the middle of the pass. His unfavorable state continued for a whole maddening minute more before the nearby firefight died down, this was the cue for him to get up and proceed to the dig site.

Shepard's immediate ambition was derailed shortly thereafter as a female soldier, clad in the distinctive armor of the colonial forces, sprinted over to the kapitein-luitenant and took refuge behind the protruding panel he'd got to, from whatever was beyond the corner leading to the path from the dig site. Shepard looked at the woman and stated in haste "Status report, now!" The soldier panted before responding with a worried tone "Oh man, we got the distress call from local command and were about to secure the dig site over here. Ended up being ambushed by synthetics of some sort right after we deployed, sir. I suspect that... I'm the only one left in the entire unit, everyone else is dead." Shepard noted the woman's exhaustion and less-than admirable morale "Pull it together. What's your rank and designation?" She looked up again "Sergeant-Majoor Williams, sir. I'll try, it's just that I've been running for my life for the past ten minutes or so, sir." Shepard frowned a bit, obviously he did not approve of Williams' complaints "You're still alive, stop complaining. Tell me, what are we dealing with here?" She frowned a bit and merely shrugged "To be honest sir, I'm not sure but I think that some of them might be geth." Luitenant Alenko had followed Shepard by that point and was standing next to him, the man raised his eyebrows and pointed out "That's ridiculous, the geth haven't been outside the Perseus Veil for nearly two hundred years or so. What would they want with us now and what's happened to the colonists?" Shepard nodded while Williams remained troubled "The luitenant makes a fair point, sergeant majoor, they have no reason to attack Bloemfontein prime. We'll assume general hostility from any units matching their profile for now but keep the facts for later. We have to move. Sergeant-Majoor, you're with us." Ashley wanted to protest "But sir, th-" "This is not up for debate, sergeant-majoor." Williams nodded and grudgingly fell in line, she did not fancy being shanghaied into other military units just like that but there was really nothing she could do right now to object.

The trio marched on and finally reached the dig site, having encountered no hostiles on the way there. Shepard's first fear came to pass as he laid his eyes on the pedestal where the artifact had most likely been on just a few hours ago, it had been moved at some point and the last thing he needed right now was an unforeseen delay. The kapitein luitenant grunted in anger and swore, eventually going for his earpiece but halting when Williams made a remark "Kapitein luitenant, sir! They moved the derelict over to the secondary site this morning, we can get there through the housing area on the ridge just through that path." Ashley motioned to a separate road that led up to what seemed to be prefabs. Shepard approved the idea and the three trekked over to the visibly abandoned set of housing units, yet again Shepard was hit with that familiar feeling of something going horribly wrong. He shook his head and dismissed it as a random, passing notion.

The debut of four gray synthetics patrolling the area was the first sign of Williams actually being correct in her assumptions, Shepard could not believe it at first and neither could Alenko but it was true, the geth had indeed invaded the free-state's prime colony and no one had any idea as to why.

The kapitein luitenant had no intention of letting such a good opportunity go unexploited, the geth units hadn't the slightest idea that the three safely in cover were even there. This presented Shepard with a chance to engage a foe the free-state had not fought before, if the situation hadn't been so gloomy then he might have actually felt giddy. Williams had only her service sidearm for some reason so she was relegated to a supporting role in this fight. The kapitein luitenant gave Alenko the hand signal to attack, after having lined up his own carbine and let Alenko do the same with the semi-automatic rifle. The quartet of artificial constructs stood no chance against the premeditated assault of Shepard and his companions, every little detail had gone off without a hitch as the luitenant and his superior let loose an array of mass-accelerated slugs to decisively disable the machines. They all paced over to the deactivated remains of the geth troopers and stared at them for some time before Kaidan stated "Guess they aren't so tough to take down after all." To which the kapitein luitenant noted "Don't get cocky luitenant. We had the element of suprise, good sight lines and the fortune to run into light grunts instead of heavier models. It would have been a miracle to lose this." Williams had stayed quiet for that conversation but she did add one thing in the end "Am I the only one who noticed that all the people are missing? Where did everybody go?" Shepard refused to publicly admit it but this had not escaped his notice either and it was making him uneasy. Rough combat conditions, psychotic enemies and long marches he could take but having your own civilians first abducted and then converted into monstrous beings with an unrelenting intent to obliterate you was a concept that honestly frightened him.

At the same time the kapitein luitenant thought of another issue that crossed his mind, namely that he had no idea what was going on with Nhilus. The turian spectre had left the ship unnoticed, perhaps even before the regular troops disembarked, no one had seen him do so of course thanks to the frantic nature of free-state deployments overall.

Shepard did not appreciate being left in the dark, even more so if he ended up being reprimanded for what he considered to be 'healthy suspicion', which he did. Regardless of where the alien was and what he was doing, the kapitein luitenant dismissed the thought. He did not have the time to loiter in this ghost town of prefabs and after ordering Alenko and Williams to fall in line, the three went on towards the nearby cargo train terminal.

Shepard felt an uneasy vibe come over him yet again, he was becoming quite perturbed by these constant ominous disruptions and despised his helplessness when it came to dealing with them. The kapitein luitenant simply shook his head once more, he had to stay focused on the task at hand, not ponder about what-if's or worst case scenarios, that was Anderson's job and he did not envy him in that regard.

Besides, what else could possibly go wrong with the mission?


End file.
